Paris as you’ve never seen it
Grabbing a hunk of lamb, the butcher chopped it up with a certain deftness that made me want to laugh out loud, but I somehow resisted the urge to do so thinking that my friend the butcher would take grave offense to it. Before me what was only moments ago a slab of meat is now tiny little squares of raw goodness waiting for the loving touch of cook, and a sideways swipe of the knife later, the lamb was wrapped into a package, I am on my way. Moroccan brochettes, here I come.
Paris is the city of romance and of dreams, where every corner has a tale to tell and it’s somewhere you can just go and lose your worries, footloose and fancy-free. It is still that, for nothing has changed on the whole, but there are still the little pleasures that few tourists fail to take full worth of, such as the innumerable street markets. It seems to be as if every quartier boasts one, and my butcher was located in the Marché Cadet, located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.
These little markets are timeless and a large part of what makes Paris so special. The din og the stallholders bellowing about their wares and cajoling you nearer their own presence, the rows upon rows of fruits of all hues and sizes a fine sight probably no color blind person will be able to enjoy. Such a shame, it’s all so very nearly rustic it’s hard to believe that this is located in the heart of a bustling city, let alone one as stellar as Paris.
And yet, the numbers of these markets (both open air and covered) seem to be growing all the time. It’s not just food, its curios, clothing and even antiques that you can get your touristy hands on. The mayor of Paree Bertrand Delanoë is a known champion of all things green, and besides the minimal ecological footprint of these markets he also espouses the cause of these for the social color and livability they add to neighborhoods. This has received a fillip by the way of greenhouses popping up all over Paris, spurring things on further to the point where some markets are now wholly organic, like the one to be found in rue Raspail.
The Marché d’Aligre is a personal favourite of mine and it is not too far off from the Bastille and has been around since 1779. The age shows, but the market does don it gracefully and pulls it off with ease. On a lazy Sunday morning there is nary a better way to while away the time than just wandering about here with nothing on your mind and everything on your mind. Take in the aromas mingling with one another and the cries of stallholders and once you’ve made your purchase decision you can reward yourself with a glass of red wine and some of the fine food available at Le Baron Bouge, a wine bar as popular as the market itself. The demand for local produce has spurred on this new trend, and which place better to show us the way than the city of lights?
